Game Center CX - It's like Top Gear for video games

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The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

In the US, Nintendo were heavily emphasising that games should take a long time to beat, because they loving hated game rentals (to the point of trying to have them illegalized at one point) and wanted to stop games from being beaten in a rental weekend. I wonder if any of that got pushed onto Japanese devs as a "if you want US sales, you have to do this..." thing?

# ¿ Apr 12, 2014 18:34

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:58

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

The funniest regional difference was the arcade version of Double Dragon 3.

In the Japanese version, you start with four playable characters, some special moves and weapons can be found just laying around, as you'd expect. In the US version, you start with one character, and you have to buy special moves, characters and weapons from Item Shops. Using real money.

Microtransactions aren't as recent an invention as you'd think!

# ¿ Apr 14, 2014 13:35

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

ImpAtom posted:

Translations are clusterfucks on a huge level, especially for more modern games. It takes a lot of fan dedication to translate a game and for every one that gets finished there are a billion that don't or end up in half-complete limbo because something goes wrong. A recent Super Robot Wars translation resorted to crowdsourcing translation editing and I think even that fizzled out.

Even official translations can be trouble - the first Game Center CX game was never programmed with the English language in mind, so XSeed had to deal with very strict character limits that were largely undocumented, resulting in lots of "insert text, oops it broke everything, rewrite it to be shorter, insert text..."-style trial and error.

# ¿ May 20, 2014 12:13

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Random Stranger posted:

Localization on them would have been nightmarish. Even beyond the usual "I don't see why we should code our text modularly. Why would anyone ever need to change it out?" attitudes that Japanese developers tend to have, any mystery would have to be effectively rewritten for a western audience. It's doable, but why put that much effort into a tough game to sell.

There's also NoA's family-friendly guidelines that were active at the time, so stuff like the cigarettes as a clue in Detective Saburou Jinguuji or the drinking in Oishinbo would have to be changed to something that's probably a lot cornier.

# ¿ May 22, 2014 21:09

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

univbee posted:

drat text adventure wasted no time in getting me into "try every menu option" territory. Arino is extremely sure I have to talk to whomever is in the office, which I did several times to no avail. Found the meeting room but although Arino seems to get some good ideas on how to deal with the locked door he just don't actually go through with trying them. I was pretty sure I tried every menu option everywhere but will give it another stab when I get home.

If you don't mind feeling a little shame, the latest magazine (I think it's the latest? Might be the one beforehand.) will tell you how to deal with your current situation under one of it's scratch-off hints.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2014 18:04

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Aurain posted:

Supposedly, Drakengard 3 was going to be called Drakengard 4, and the plot of the game would be about why Drakengard 3 doesn't actually exist.

Metal Gear Solid 2 almost did the same thing.

The Leisure Suit Larry series actually did it - since every loose end possible was tied up in the third game (and due to an unfortunate bungle with a failed online network), they decided to just flat out skip the fourth game (joking that they "lost the floppies") and jump to the fifth, never explaining what happened in the "missing" game.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2014 16:40

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

zari-gani posted:

NES controllers hooked up to a Famicom Box?

Everything on the Famicombox was NES-themed for some reason. Possibly to make it harder for owners to stick their own games in there? Here's one of the cartridges, for example!

# ¿ Jul 4, 2014 18:04

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

King Vidiot posted:

I didn't think it was discouraging rentals so much as encouraging sales. If you couldn't beat the game on a rental then maybe you'd buy the game so you could put the time in to get better at it.

Nintendo were actively attempting to make game rentals illegal throughout the NES era. Here's a page from an internal NOA newsletter that touches on one such attempt in the right hand column.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2014 06:14

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

zari-gani posted:

That's from the FM Towns version, which looks identical to the DOS version.

There's LeChuck's Revenge for FM Towns, too.

There was also a special FM Towns-exclusive version of Zak McKraken and The Alien Mindbenders that had 256-color graphics (The PC original was 16 colours) and CD audio.

It was never officially released for PCs, despite including a full English-language version alongside the Japanese translation.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2015 09:44

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Corridor posted:

oh yeah, i wanted to ask a question about the second gccx nds game... I heard it got fanslated, yay, but does it also translate babby arino's commentary in the games? like would it even be possible to do that?

i just remember being kinda bummed when i got the undubbed version and all i could really pick up on was ABUNAI and HATTAI HITTA and GAMEY OBERA

None of the voiceover is translated because there's no subtitles system and around 1290 Arino samples to deal with (plus another 50 or so for Kan).

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 11:56

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Hirayuki posted:

Speaking of which, is there an easy way to extract those samples? Or are we getting into territory just discussing the possibility?

Ripping the sounds is very possible, but I haven't delved into DS audio stuff in yeeears, so I wouldn't know how.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 14:22

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Corridor posted:

what's gccx channel

It's a Japan-only subscription-based mobile app that offers up cut footage, behind the scenes clips, and segments that are either new or things they couldn't fit on the show for some reason.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2015 15:10

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Pastry of the Year posted:

Oh noooooooooooo

Fun GCCX-related trivia: Mystery of Atlantis was planned for western release at some point as Super Pitfall 2! The localized, bug-fixed ROM file is floating around out there, but it was never officially released. Probably because Super Pitfall was terrible and acidic to the touch.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2015 17:04

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Gimpy Joe posted:

Is that Super Pitfall the same one played at AGDQ 2015?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlFY3_55Il8

The one and only.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2015 07:34

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Ghost-Slug posted:

My guess would be Murasame Castle and I hope it is because I've seen references to it before but I've never seen it in action.

It's actually on 3DS Virtual Console in the west! Untranslated, but there's very little text in it anyway. It's basically a top-down action game where you kill copious amounts of ninja while trying to find hidden items.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AltYxC0qE-k

# ¿ Feb 20, 2015 11:06

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

geri_khan posted:

Nice, thanks SAGCCX!

Has there ever been a better secret trick in GCCX? What a game, Super Spy Hunter makes you work HARD even for cheat codes.

It turns out the trick shown in the episode isn't the only double-edged secret trick in the game. From The Cutting Room Floor:

quote:

At the title screen, hold Select and press Start. Numbers from 0 to 12 will roll across the screen; press A to make them stop. The number you get will determine how many lives you start with.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 19:49

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

It isn't a fighting game unless someone with a lit cigarette and a switchblade is standing dangerously close to you as you play.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2015 21:37

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Mister Chief posted:

How much does a TGS ticket cost? I might go next year. Might.

Official website for this year says �1000 per day if you order in advance, �1200 if you buy on the day, or �3000 for a "supporters club" ticket.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2015 06:46

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Many early NES-era games used English text for an number of reasons.

(JP left, US right)

Legends of Localization posted:

First, English is a required subject in the Japanese school system, so everyone gets a couple years of exposure to the language. Mostly it�s a lot of rote memorization of vocab lists, so it�s not entirely useful. But it means that Japanese people can still pick out words they recognize when confronted with a wall of English text.

Second, English words are used all the time in Japanese. If you study Japanese, you�ll immediately learn that a good percentage of common Japanese words are actually taken from English. So English is right at home in Japanese entertainment.

Third, English has an interesting allure to it in Japan. You know how Americans love to get Japanese/Chinese characters for tattoos, even if they don�t really know what they mean or how to pronounce them? This is kind of like that, but times a million. If you walk around any Japanese street or go into any Japanese store, you�ll find English everywhere.

_{Okay, these aren't the best example, but maybe you're hungrier for chicken flavor chips now? P.S. Go Go Turkey Rangers}

There are also often technical advantages of using English instead of Japanese � you only need memory for 26 letters if you use English, but well over a hundred if you decide to use Japanese katakana and hiragana.

A side result of this is that many games released in 1980s Japan used English text. So where we English-speakers fondly view retro games as having poorly-written English, Japanese retro games have an �oh, all the text is in English� vibe instead.

Another thing to note is that all the keywords in the Zelda story are highlighted in some way. This is somewhat common, as you can see in the Air Fortress screenshot above, and if you play any of the other Zelda games.

The color coding in Zelda�s case isn�t accidental, either � all the stuff relating to the Triforce is in blue, the Gannon/Princess stuff is in red, and the part about Link is in green. This means that even if players (of any country) aren�t very good at English, they know exactly what words they should focus on and possibly how they�re connected � enough to get the gist of the game�s goal, in other words.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2015 10:36

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

It was also discussed in an Iwata Asks interview

quote:

Morimoto: We put Mew in right at the very end. The cartridge was really full and there wasn't room for much more on there. Then the debug features which weren't going to be included in the final version of the game were removed, creating a miniscule 300 bytes of free space. So we thought that we could slot Mew in there. What we did would be unthinkable nowadays!

Ishihara: This is in spite of being told after debug ended that you weren't to tamper with even a single bit! (laughs wryly)

Iwata: What's the point of going through all the trouble of the debug process if you're going to go and fiddle with the game afterwards...? I'd venture that this all came from Morimoto-san's mischievous nature.

Morimoto: Well, it was a prank that everyone right up to Tajiri-san was in on. But even though Mew was in there...

Iwata: ...It wasn't actually supposed to appear in the game, right?

Morimoto: Right. Unless we could think about any good opportunity to do so, the existence of Mew wouldn't have been revealed to the public. It was left in there so it would be ready in case it suited to some post-launch activity to make use of it. But if there wasn't anyone among ourselves who wanted to use it, I thought it would be fine to just leave it as it was.

Iwata: Mew could very well have ended up never appearing in the game.

Morimoto: Right. But then due to an unforeseen bug, Mew ended up appearing in some players' games. It looked like we planned all of this, but that wasn't the case. So although it caused all sorts of problems to many concerned, fortunately enough it ended up having a positive effect.

# ¿ May 28, 2016 17:48

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Blackchamber posted:

I can't read a drat word of Japanese, buying this solely for the art.

EDIT: Needs a fan translation pls.

It's a literal children's book for children, so odds are the Japanese isn't very complicated, and as such would be good for folks trying to learn the language!

# ¿ Jul 27, 2016 15:43

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Lurdiak posted:

Anyone have a link to the Intelligent Qube episode? I know for a fact it exists and I'm pretty darn sure it was translated, but it doesn't seem to be in the list in the OP.

Part 1
Part 2

# ¿ Jan 10, 2017 13:26

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

chinese barbecue porp posted:

what

What's the context here?

GCCX Channel is a subscription-based mobile app with extra content. Feudal Lord 2 is a quiz game, presumably a sequel to this one that had some questions of the mature variety.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2017 12:38

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

zari-gani posted:

Crash Bandicoot was given an extra finger for the Japanese releases.

The Oddworld series went the opposite direction and lopped a finger off of all the Mudokons. According to the official artbook, this is because the developers were threatened with a legal battle/fines from an unnamed pressure group if they didn't comply.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2017 07:43

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

jyrque posted:

That is so bizarre but so is the result. Farting aliens are now actually more yakuza by cutting off a digit.

The group claimed to be representing a historical underclass of meat-packers that were often identified and prejudiced against in medieval times on account of missing digits from workplace accidents. Given that the Oddworld characters affected by this are slave-workers at a meat plant with no workplace safety, the developers saw plenty of irony in the change.

(The same group was apparently also shaking down Disney to the tune of $5 million a year to keep Mickey Mouse's hands unaltered, so it's not like they could realistically fight back or anything...)

# ¿ Feb 17, 2017 08:33

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

WesY2K posted:

Is there already some news regarding the english version of Kan's book?

It was announced back in April to be getting released via Fangamer. I don't know when it'll be out, but the final proof was signed off on last week so I'm assuming soonish.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2017 19:20

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Shiren the Wanderer also got an updated, English-language port to the DS with some online functionality that almost certainly doesn't work anymore.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2017 21:49

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

The MEGA link is asking for a decryption key.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 12:26

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

univbee posted:

It seems to be working for me from here (where I'm not signed in at all), not sure if you're going to a truncated URL for whatever reason.

That was it. I was sending the link to a friend who's into this stuff, and copied the truncated link text from the post like an idiot. Sorry bout that!

# ¿ Mar 12, 2018 14:58

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

New Youtube Yoiko thing, revolving around Smash Bros Ultimate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2CjQUBtbhY

# ¿ Dec 5, 2018 10:41

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

This isn't a new episode sub, but it's a new GCCX related thing translated that I don't think's been posted: 15th Anniversary interview with Arino from the middle of last year. Discussion topics include long hours, Youtubers, the wear and tear of age, the show's wide appeal, and Inoue somehow never getting fired.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2019 11:37

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

WesY2K posted:

Say, do you know if the GCCX or Arino made levels for Super Mario Maker are still available and if you can play them in SMM2 on the Switch?
Thanks.

Should be and no, respectively.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2019 13:01

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Negrostrike posted:

https://twitter.com/gccx_official/status/1171735272167333889

Seems like Earthbound episode airs tomorrow with Mr. Itoi as guest.

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

Itoi's site just put up this transcript, when he saw that he said "oh that's the name I always used" https://www.1101.com/gccxmother/2019-09-13.html

This is dated from a month ago, but I only just noticed it and I don't think it's been linked here, so here's an English version.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2019 05:43

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Mister Chief posted:

Is Sega involved with Shenmue 3?

I don't think they are, outside of licensing the IP to YsNET.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2019 12:44

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

As a point of reference:

# ¿ May 9, 2020 09:12

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

i've got an uncle who works at japan, i got to see sumo wrestling 2 at his house, it has rocket boots. i can't show you it though or else he'll get in trouble.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2020 18:09

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Here's an English summary of Kibe's book:
https://twitter.com/BClarkOMP/status/1284913740006264834

# ¿ Jul 23, 2020 07:38

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

cubeboy posted:

It looks like they finally have an official fanclub website?
https://gccxfc.com/

This was released a while back. IIRC it's a subscription site that I guess fulfils the same role as the old discontinued GCCX Channel mobile app.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2020 19:13

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Game Center KBX airs on the 28th of March, starring Kibe Kacho. No word on what'll be played.

https://twitter.com/gccx_official/status/1366176360436129792

# ¿ Mar 1, 2021 07:40

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:58

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

WesY2K posted:

Are there any news what Game Center KBX is about?

The site automatically translated for me to "A spin-off program in which all the staff are groping is here!" which sounds pretty naughty... are we finally having a real GAMECENTER SEX this time? xD

https://otn.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/921200056.html

The theme of the special is apparently 10 things Kibe wanted to do.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2021 09:57

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